1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stove covers, and, more particularly, to covers for stove top burners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical or contemporary stove top, either gas or electric, generally includes four burners. The burners are usually arranged in a symmetrical configuration. For electric ranges, the burners may not be the same size, with respect to the diameter of the burners, but the organization of the burners with respect to the stove top is still generally symmetrical, with each burner being allocated about one-fourth of the overall area of the stove top.
While cooking, it is not uncommon for spilling, splattering, or the like, to take place. The result is somewhat of a messy stove top and a requirement of cleaning the stove top, and all of the burners on the stove top with a substantial degree of regularity. The adjacent burners, as well as other, near-by areas of the stove top, inevitably are included in the splattering that takes place during cooking periods.
Since the burners, themselves, whether they be gas or electric, are generally irregular and uneven, and do not have a smooth configuration, it is a rather cumbersome and exasperating job to continually clean them. With respect to gas burners, if material splatters onto an orifice of a gas burner, the orifice may get clogged. The clogging results in problems when that particular burner is later used. When material splatters anywhere onto a cooking unit, either an electric unit or a gas unit, the inevitable result, when that particular burner is next used, is a generally unpleasant burning odor, and a baked-on situation that increases the difficulty in cleaning the burner.
A solution to the problems discussed above is to simply cover the unused burners of a stove while cooking is being accomplished, whether the cooking is on one burner or on more than one burner. Different types of covers are shown in the prior art.
An example of covers for a range is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,000,185. The '185 patent discloses a folding or hinged double panel cover for a stove. One panel may be folded away from, or off, a pair of burners, thus allowing one or both burners to be used. With the cover folded off the burners, two of the burners are protected from splattering. However, the construction of the cover in the '185 patent limits the access to at least two of the burners when one-half, or one panel, is folded open. The alternative is to have both panels of the cover folded open, thus presenting all four burners for use.
Another example of prior art covers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,947,554. The '554 patent discloses a folding panel for a stove top. The cover is made of a plurality of panels and the panels may be arranged in several different ways with respect to the top of the stove. However, as with the '185 patent, a minimum of two burners is uncovered any time one of the panels is folded to allow operation of the top of the stove.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,157,608 also discloses a pair of doors or panels secured to the top of a stove. The doors or panels pivot rearwardly, and each panel covers two burner units. Thus, as with the above-described patents, if only a single burner is to be used, a single panel is opened which exposes at least two burners.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,185,275 discloses a stove with four individual covers for the burners. The covers are not connected together, but rather are separate, individual elements. With the apparatus of the '275 patent, each burner may be selectively uncovered for use at any time, leaving the remainder of the burners covered and thus protected.
Another type of folding panel for a stove top is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,333,199. The apparatus of the '199 patent discloses a pair of double panels which pivot rearwardly and hinge upon themselves to cover or uncover selectively one-fourth of the stove top. The front portions of each cover are first used or folded, exposing only the front portion of the stove. To use a back or rear burner, both the front and the rear burners must be exposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,696,812 discloses another type of panel system for covering the top of a stove. The panel system includes two separate panels, a first panel and a second panel. The second or rear panel is hinged to the rear of the stove and pivots upwardly thereon. The front panel is hinged to the rear panel, and pivots relative to the rear panel, thus uncovering the front part of the stove. The '812 apparatus includes other features, not pertinent to the present invention. However, it will be noted that, as with the other patents discussed above, except for the '275 patent, each burner of the stove is uncovered in a predetermined manner, with the rear burners uncovered last, and, if it is desired to use one or both of the rear burners, the front burners must also be uncovered and thus exposed.
The primary difference between the patents discussed above and the apparatus of the present invention, with all of the patents discussed herein, except the apparatus of the '275 patent, is that the prior art requires the uncovering of at least a pair of burners at one time, regardless of the intent of the user to use only one of the burners. The apparatus of the present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by allowing a user to selectively uncover a burner, as desired. Any one of four burners on the top of a stove may be used at any time while the remaining three burners remain covered and thus protected. Moreover, the apparatus of the present invention allows the burner covers to be cleaned with minimum difficulty by easily removing the covers from the stove. The prior art apparatus is secured to the stove and pivots or folds in a fixed direction. The apparatus of the present invention allows the selective covering and uncovering of any of the burners on a stove.